Mr. Mulliner
One of Wodehouse’s recurring characters, he is generally described as a “raconteur” and his purpose is this story as well as the others in which he is featured is to intrude upon the conversation of a guest at the Anglers’ Rest Pub and tell a relevant story about one his many family members. In “Best Seller” the story is about one of his nephews.
Egbert Mulliner
The nephew, Egbert Mulliner, is an assistant editor for a publication called The Weekly Booklover. While in “recovery” from having interviewed a series of female authors whose works he deems below standard, he falls in love with Evangeline Pembury. After first ascertaining that she has no literary ambitions, he pursues her vigor, but this pursuit has an ironic effect on the young woman.
Evangeline Pembury
The ironic effect of Ebert’s love for Evangeline is that it spurs her to write a romantic novel. Though poorly written, the irony is further deepened by Evangeline’s novel becoming a best seller. In turn, this irony is deepened by the negative effect is has upon Egbert’s love. The rest of the story becomes a swirling vortex of ever more ironic twists and turns as it turns out that thought she enjoys being a writer, Evangeline hate writing.
Miss Postlethwaite
Miss Postlethwaite is a barmaid who works at the Anglers’ Rest pub. It is the sight of the young woman tearing up over a copy of a novel titled Rue for Remembrance which stimulates Mr. Mulliner to tell the story about his nephew and Evangeline Pembury. For the author—or, as it turns out at least--the name listed as the author of Rue for Remembrance is none other than Evangeline.
Jno. Henderson Banks
The quite unusually punctuated Mr. Banks is Evangeline’s agent. Although initially greeted by Egbert with a jealous eye toward the agent’s occupation of his beloved’s attention, Banks also eventually proves an agency of irony with his persistent focus on Evangeline’s productivity.
